After America, by Mark Stein
The United States hit its height of glory around the 1950's. Now we're basically all a bunch of free loading sissies on a steep path to decline that will mimic that of Europe only more accelerated and with more disastrous results.
Mark Steyn manages to convey all this while still being hilarious at the same time. I pretty much resonated with all of his points - even though his premise doesn't overly stir me. Bloated government, overlicensure, wimpy people, leaders who are all blather (is that a word?), over emphasis on expensive education and lettered names that mean less and less, an economy based on borrowing and fluff rather than industry, over reliance on "experts" and not enough common sense and tinkerology, (ok I did invent that word) - hyper sensitive....
He has a bunch of pithy statements. Here's one: "Islam is playing for tomorrow, whereas much of the West has, by any traditional indicator, given up on the future. We do not save, we do not produce, we do not reproduce, not in Europe, not in Canada, Vermont, or San Francisco. Instead we seek new, faster ways to live in an eternal present, in an unending whirl of sensory distraction."
If I put my hope and identity in the United States of America first and foremost, this would have been a prophetic downer. Whilst I don't want to undervalue the ideals and freedoms that we have enjoyed, I choose to focus more on spiritual freedom, and the growth of an invisible kingdom - the one that superimposes physical borders. (No, I'm not talking about the globalism that Steyn ridicules.)
He offers a short chapter of suggestions for an antidote to this tidal wave: de-centralize, (don't talk about "changing the world" - go out and do something for your family, neighbors, and town) de-governmentalize, (do everything you can to lessen the growth of government) de-monopolize ("we also need a new trust-busting movement to bust the dominant trust of our time - the big government monopoly that monopolizes more and more of life.") de-complicate - (tried to have a medical procedure lately?, gone to At&t? - I finally asked the girl, how much does this actually cost? Can I just pay for the darn thing?) de-credentialize - (too much studying, not enough doing) did-entitle, - "Entitlements are the death of responsible government" de-normalize - I guess this means that things should be understandable - like "trillions of dollars" - I know I can't wrap my mind around that, I guess only politicians can do - learn how to do stuff - tinker, build, create, produce live free or die - I just watched Rogue One. We need more people like that.
